News & Perspectives on Beer and its Culture

Creature Comforts Brewing Co.

Creature Comforts Brewing Co. (Athens, Georgia) has announced that Reclaimed Rye will join the brewery’s portfolio of canned Year-Round offerings in mid-February.

Developed as Creature Comforts Brewing Co.’s attempt to “reclaim” the Amber Ale style, Reclaimed Rye (5.5% ABV) is “a uniquely complex and full-flavored amber ale that the brewery ages on French oak.” The French Oak works with the beer’s malted and flaked rye to create “a well-rounded body, with notes of toasted bread, spice, and subtle vanilla.” Reclaimed Rye now joins Tropicália American IPA, Athena Berliner Weisse, and Bibo Pilsner as the fourth year-round offering from Creature Comforts to be made available in cans.

“We have wanted Reclaimed Rye in cans for three years,” said Creature Comforts Co-founder and CEO Chris Herron. “It is a favorite beer around the brewery and in the market, but capacity constraints have kept it as a draft only offering. With our capacity increase coming from our new brewery, the wait is finally over and cans of Reclaimed Rye will finally be a real thing!”

Release – Year-Round; cans launch February 17, 2018Style – Amber Ale/Rye BeerABV – 5.5%Treatment – Aged on French OakFun Fact – On the naming of Reclaimed Rye: “The beer was named with the brewers’ intentions in mind of shedding new light on the amber style – reclaiming it back from the ordinary. In addition, the name is a nod to the wood that was reclaimed to make up the bars, picnic tables and paneled walls in the brewery’s tasting room. Local woodworkers, Oneta, designed and built the reclaimed wood additions to Creature Comforts’ tasting room.”Availability – 12 oz. cans & draftDistribution – Athens & Atlanta, Georgia

Creature Comforts Brewing Co. (Athens, Georgia) has announced that it will hold a limited, brewery-only can release of Tritonia Gose with Mango, Orange & Lime beginning at 3 p.m. on Friday, January 19.

To take everyone’s mind off the cold for a bit, the brewers at Creature Comforts recently whipped up a limited batch of Tritonia Gose with Mango, Orange & Lime (4.5% ABV).Meant to mimic the flavors of a mango cocktail that you would run across at the beach, this incredibly refreshing version of Tritonia Gose features notes of tropical mango, coriander, lime zest, orange marmalade, and a “balancing salinity”.

Tritonia Gose with Mango, Orange & Lime will officially release at the brewery on Friday, January 19. Creature Comforts only produced 150 cases of this Limited Release, so guests will be limited to two 6-packs per person. This release event will also feature Tritonia Gose with Mango, Orange & Lime on draft for on-site consumption, tacos from Silver Queen, and live music from DJ Osmose. Due to the limited nature of this release, Tritonia Gose with Mango, Orange & Lime will not see distribution in cans. Prost!

Creature Comforts Brewing Co. (Athens, Georgia) recently announced that Koko Buni, the brewery’s seasonally released Milk Porter, will begin hitting shelves and taps again in mid to late December.

Released each year as Creature Comforts Brewing Co.’s fan-favorite Winter Seasonal, Koko Buni is a Milk Porter brewed with toasted coconut, Ecuadorian cocoa nibs sourced from Condor Chocolates, and an Ethiopian coffee blend from 1000 Faces Coffee. Although this combination results in “rich and velvety” flavors, the 6.5% ABV Koko Buni achieves a beautiful balance where “none of the flavors are overpowering or fatiguing on the palate.”

“We decided not to be traditional with the beer and add some ingredients that play well with the existing roasty and chocolatey flavors of dark beer,” said Co-founder and Head Brewer David Stein. “The result is a decadent porter, yet balanced and not over the top. Each flavor has room to individually interact with your palate, which is always a challenge as a brewer when using so many ingredients.”

Koko Buni is scheduled to officially release on December 19 with availability in 6-packs of 12 oz. cans and on draft. You can expect to find this Seasonal offering onsite at the brewery as well at select craft beer establishments in the Athens and Atlanta, Georgia markets. Prost!

Creature Comforts Brewing Co. (Athens, Georgia) recently announced that it will release Table Beer in October as the brewery’s next Seasonal offering.

Previously released last fall under the name Epicurious (name changed due to “legal reasons”), the newly dubbed Table Beer returns with the same mission: to simply be “a beer that best complements drinking with food and friends.” After consulting with “a number of the top chefs in Athens and Atlanta”, Creature Comforts first focused on making this offering “highly carbonated with an invigorating minerality to help cleanse the palate in between bites of food.” To keep things “refreshing, versatile, and approachable”, the 4.2% ABV Table Beer then provides a flavor experience featuring an “earthy, floral and soft citrus hop character [that] is balanced by complex Belgian yeast flavors and subtle bitterness on the finish.” Finally, the use of flaked oats and rustic grains rounds the whole thing off with “a nice grain flavor and firm mouthfeel.”

“The idea of a Table Beer is not new, and in fact it is practically the genesis for beer,” said Chris Herron – Co-founder and CEO of Creature Comforts Brewing Co. “Our goal was to design a beer that serves as a complement to food rather than a distraction – something unpretentious, that is meant to simply be enjoyed with friends around the dinner table.”

Table Beer will officially arrive in October and act as a Seasonal release. You can expect to find this brew available in 6-packs of 12 oz. cans and on draft at craft beer-focused restaurants, retailers and bars located within Creature Comforts Brewing Co.’s distribution network in Athens and Atlanta, Georgia. Prost!

Creature Comforts Brewing Co. (Athens, Georgia) has announced that it will officially release 4-packs of Duende Double IPA in their tasting room beginning at 1 p.m. on Friday, September 15.

Arriving as Creature Comforts Brewing Co.’s first release to be available in 16 oz. cans, Duende Double IPA is a “slightly hazy” marigold-colored brew that is most notably known for its “notes of orange, grapefruit, apricot, and tangerine coming from the hops.” A closer look at this beer reveals that it starts with “a bright almost citrusy pine note” before developing those more intense fruit notes and “a consistent fruit flesh flavor.” Just as you think Duende might be done, this 8% ABV Double India Pale Ale develops “subtle earth and berry notes . . . and the beer finishes with a perfectly balanced bitterness that rounds out the alcohol sweetness and immediately invites you to take another sip.”

Duende Double IPA will officially release in the Creature Comforts Tasting Room on Friday, September 15. The brewery will open early at 1 p.m. for to-go purchases only, and on-site consumption will begin at 5 p.m. Duende Double IPA will be available for purchase in 4-packs of 16 oz. cans ($15 per 4-pack, limit of FOUR 4-packs per customer). Cans will only be available for purchase in the tasting room, but Duende Double IPA will see limited distribution on draft to select craft beer spots located in Athens and Atlanta, Georgia. Prost!

For the first time in the history of their Collaboration series, Collaboration No. 7 – Oak-Aged Lager has Boulevard Brewing Co. working with not one but two breweries. This offering stands as a liquid embodiment of both Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co.’s reputation “as champions for local ingredients in innovative beers” and Creature Comforts Brewing Co.’s philosophy of being “dedicated to better being through being curious.”

To pull this off, the three brewing teams built a crisp lager upon “a base of two-row pale malt, Sonoran White Wheat, honey malt and corn grits.” They then introduced Riesling grape juice, peaches and lemon zest; incorporated a hop bill consisting of Nelson Sauvin, Lemondrop and Hallertau Blanc hops; and fermented the beer with an Ayinger lager yeast strain. Once the brewing process was completed, Collaboration No. 7 – Oak-Aged Lager received its finishing touches by being “briefly aged on Cuvee No. 5 Tank Staves, French oak staves that impart fruit, spice, toast and tannins similar to aging in a fresh/virgin French oak barrel.” For a clear idea of what to expect from this elaborate recipe, here is Collaboration No. 7’s full description from Boulevard Brewing’s official press release:

Collaboration No. 7 – Oak-Aged Lager will officially launch in the Kansas City area beginning on August 21, and it will then see distribution to other regions in the coming weeks. Once it hits distribution, you will be able to find this Limited Release offering available in 4-packs of 12 oz. bottles and on draft at select craft beer establishments located in Alabama, Florida, Missouri and any other area that normally sees Smokestack Series Limited Release beers from Boulevard Brewing Co. Prost!

Creature Comforts Brewing Co. (Athens, Georgia) recently announced that Automatic Pale Ale will be making a much-anticipated Seasonal return in June.

Brewed to be a “modern” American Pale Ale, Automatic “features a prominent hop flavor and aroma” thanks to the use of Mosaic and Crystal hops sourced from Yakima Valley in 2016 by Creature Comforts Co-founders Chris Herron, Adam Beauchamp and David Stein. These hops lend the beer aromatics of “berry, citrus, herbal, and pine”, and those aroma notes roll over into the flavor profile along with “a bit more earthiness and stone fruit.” At a very reasonable 5.2% ABV, Automatic provides its drinker with “nicely balanced” experience that finishes “moderately bitter.”

“We went to Yakima in the Fall of 2016 to select hops for our beers for the first time,” says our Co-founder and Brewmaster Adam Beauchamp. “In doing so, we were able to secure some beautiful Mosaic from Oregon as well as some Crystal hops that clearly stood out to all of us as highly aromatic.”

Automatic Pale Ale will begin turning up on draft in early June, and 6-packs of 12 oz. cans will arrive by late June. You can expect to find this Seasonal release available at select craft beer establishments located in the brewery’s distribution area of Athens and Atlanta, Georgia. Prost!

Release – Seasonal, June 2017Style – American Pale AleABV – 5.2%Featured Hops – Mosaic & Crystal Availability – 6-packs of 12 oz. cans & draftDistribution – Athens & Atlanta, GeorgiaCan Artwork – “We collaborated with a local artist to design the can label. Athens painter, Michelle Fontaine, was inspired by 1950s American popular culture as well as the origin of our facility – a former 1940s Chevy dealership and later the Snow Tire Company. The label depicts a classic automotive theme.”Fun Fact – “The name Automatic is a nod to the community in which we are located – Athens, GA. It’s a reference to the slogan of a local restaurant, Weaver D’s that inspired one of REM’s most prolific albums – Automatic for the People.”

Creature Comforts Brewing Co. (Athens, Georgia) recently announced that Tritonia Gose with Cucumber and Lime will be packaged in 12 oz. cans for the first time in late May.

Arriving as a thirst-quenching springtime offering, Tritonia with Cucumber and Lime is a Limited Release variant of Creature Comforts Brewing Co.’s “tart and refreshing Gose” known simply as Tritonia. The base beer’s tartness, coriander and sea salt gets an added infusion of refreshment thanks to the additions of lime and cooling cucumber. This all results in a 4.5% ABV brew that is the perfect option to sip on after a long day in the sun.

“Tritonia is one of my favorite of our limited release beers,” said Creature Comforts Brewing Co. Co-founder and Head Brewer David Stein. “It’s extremely refreshing and perfect for the spring months as the weather starts to warm up.”

Tritonia with Cucumber and Lime will be available on draft in early May, and 12 oz. cans will follow shortly behind with a release scheduled for late May. You can expect to find this Limited Release offering available “on-site at Creature Comforts as well as in the Athens and Atlanta markets.” Like most packaged beers from Creature Comforts, you should not expect Tritonia with Cucumber and Lime to last long on shelves. Get it while you can. Prost!

Vital Information for Tritonia with Cucumber and Lime from Creature Comforts Brewing Co.

Release – Limited/Seasonal; available on draft in early May, cans release in late MayStyle – GoseABV – 4.5%Added Ingredients – Coriander, sea salt, lime & cucumberAvailability – 12 oz. cans & draftDistribution – Athens & Atlanta, GeorgiaFun Fact – “In The Iliad, The Homeric Hymns, and in Hesiod’s Theogony, Athena is given the curious epithet Tritogeneia. The meaning of this term is unclear; it could mean various things, including ‘Triton-born’, perhaps indicating that the sea-deity was her parent according to some early myths. In Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Athena is occasionally referred to as ‘Tritonia’.”

Since this is the time of year when the hop crop is at its peak of freshness, it only makes sense for Creature Comforts Brewing Co. to designate March as the month to pencil their annually released, fan-favorite Double IPA into the brewing schedule. This year’s release of Cosmik Debris weighs in at 8% ABV and has been created with a recipe consisting of five pounds per barrel of featured hops – Simcoe, Idaho 7, Mosaic, Cascade and Chinook. With aromatics of citrus zest, melon and pine, “the beer delivers a beautiful balance between firm bitterness and malt with notes of starfruit and orange marmalade on the palate.”

“Cosmik Debris should always be kept cold and consumed as fresh as possible,” says our Co-Founder and Brewmaster Adam Beauchamp. “Allowing it to age would lessen the brilliant, fresh aroma that we worked to infuse into the beer.”

Cosmik Debris Double IPA will officially begin its release in late-March (release date to be determined). Hop heads will be able to find this Seasonal offering available in 12 oz. cans and on draft at the brewery’s Tasting Room and at select craft beer establishments found in Creature Comforts Brewing Co.’s distribution area of Athens and Atlanta, Georgia. More details concerning the release of Cosmik Debris will arrive soon, and we will update you with that information once we have it. Stay tuned. Prost!